The midfielder's strike gave the excellent Stojkovic no chance and sealed an impressive 20-minute spell after the interval.

Forest were seeking a fourth consecutive home win at the start of the season for the first time since 1984 and looked on track when Vellios followed up to tap in after Eric Lichaj's effort had hit the post.

But Norwich had looked the sharper and more inventive in the final third, with Hoolahan, Dorrans and Robbie Brady all prominent in the early stages.

Hoolahan's earlier missed spot-kick, after he was fouled by Nicolao Dumitru, had looked like being costly.

However, the Canaries were soon level after the break when Howson netted following a corner and, after relentless pressure, Dorrans put the visitors ahead.

Forest brought on Nicklas Bendtner and forced some late pressure but failed to create any telling opportunities.

Apostolos Vellios scored his third goal in three games to put Forest ahead at the City Ground

Nottingham Forest head coach Philippe Montanier: "I was disappointed because we have lost for the first time at home and we had been winning 1-0 at half-time.

"Norwich are one of the top teams in the Championship and we needed to be at a higher level. We were a little timid with the ball and also in defence. We made things too easy for them.

"It is disappointing but our performance was not sufficient against a good team like Norwich."

Norwich boss Alex Neil: "It is crucial to get that first goal. But, if you do not get it, you cannot just let yourself go out with a whimper. You have to fight for it.

"I asked them for that and they gave me that and more. I thought in the second 45 minutes the fans must have enjoyed that because our performance was much better.

"The response we saw from the players was really, really good. We did not ride our luck, we were really good. They had one clear header - which is why we put more height into our side off the bench late on."